School officials were alerted to possible fraud when a parent requested tutoring services for her child but documents submitted by a tutoring agency indicated the student already was receiving those services, district spokeswoman Leslie Price said.

SAISD officials began reviewing invoices and found the district was billed in cases where parents and students alleged no tutoring had occurred, she said.

After additional complaints surfaced regarding other after-school tutoring companies, “it became clear that this was a broader issue,” Price added.

Price said it's too early to tell how much money SAISD may have paid in fraudulent claims. The five companies being investigated have sought reimbursements totaling $240,500 but the district has “not determined how much of that is in dispute,” Price said.

The tutoring services are required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act for schools that fail to meet “adequate yearly progress” standards for three years in a row.

Sam Houston High School and seven middle schools — Davis, Wheatley, Page, Rhodes, Rogers, Twain and Tafolla — offer the services, paid for with part of the federal money SAISD receives for students considered socio-economically disadvantaged. About 3,600 students in the district participate.

Students can continue to receive services by choosing another company from a list of approved tutoring businesses, which is kept by the Texas Education Agency, Price said.

Sixty companies are providing services to SAISD this year, according to the release.

The Dallas Independent School District last year alleged five tutoring companies defrauded the district for about $500,000, the Dallas Morning News has reported.

TEA spokeswoman Debbie Ratcliffe said the agency will cooperate with the investigation but will take no immediate action against the firms named in the SAISD complaint.

“I think we proceed with the innocent until proven guilty approach,” she said.
mcesar@express-news.net